Joint Press Conference
by the Prime Minister of Japan
and the President of the republic of Peru

Toront, Canada
February 1, 1997

1. Opening Statement by President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru
2. Opening Statement by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan
3. Questions and Answers

I. Opening Statement by President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru

President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru: Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan and I, the President of Peru, have just concluded our meeting. This meeting was held to discuss our common concern with the occupation of the Ambassador's Residence, which is a very unfortunate incident taking place in Lima, Peru. Seventy-three people are being kept hostage by people calling themselves the MRTA. At this meeting, we discussed this matter, which is of concern to the entire international community. While this is a single incident, this also seriously infringes on the human rights of the innocent individuals kept hostage, and we therefore cannot help but call this an act of terrorism. International public opinion should know the following. The Governments of Japan and Peru reaffirm their responsibility as States with regard to this incident and with regard to the current situation; and therefore, for the health and safety of the hostages, we have acted very discreetly and cautiously to date, but we also are seeking a peaceful solution of the incident. Within the system of law under Peru and under international law, we are seeking resolution of the problem. The so-called MRTA members are called guerrillas or insurgents, but that is incorrect. Even if you give such an appellation to these people, that would not justify the various incidents of violence that have taken place in Peru from 1980 through 1993. These acts were perpetrated by the MRTA and the Shining Path. Here in Toronto, I would like all of you to be fully aware of the following. Over the past several years in Peru, the people have observed reality -- and those of you who are well versed with the situation in Peru, I am sure, will understand this -- in Peru, we do not have guerrillas. There is no public support for terrorist acts. In other words, there is no support for terrorism which would provide a basis for a peace pact. Today, we received very strong support from the Government of Japan vis- -vis our strategy. We are seeking a peaceful resolution of the incident, and we received strong support for this strategy. The meeting today was very candid and very fruitful, and we believe this would be a very important milestone for our next step. As a result, we very much hope that the very unfortunate incident this time will be resolved as early as possible. The Government of Canada and Prime Minister Jean Chr tien have accepted our meeting this time with a strong sense of solidarity. We are most grateful for that, and at the same time we expressed our renewed determination to seek a very peaceful and satisfactory solution of the problem.

II. Opening Statement by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan: I, today, had a frank and serious exchange of views with President Fujimori for a peaceful resolution of the occupation of the Japanese Ambassador's Residence in Peru. Almost a month and a half have elapsed since the outbreak of the incident, but more than seventy people remain hostage. Empathizing with the hostages for their hardship and with the families of the hostages and others concerned for their anguish, I shall continue to do my utmost to win the earliest possible peaceful resolution of the incident and the complete release of all of the hostages. With the incident entering crucial stages ahead of a direct dialog with the culprits following the recent meeting of the members of the Commission of Guarantors, we decided to meet directly, recognizing that it was urgently necessary to reaffirm at the leaders' level the importance of coordination between our two countries, and to consult with each other on how to achieve a peaceful resolution of the matter and the release of all of the hostages. Immediately after the outbreak of the incident, I communicated directly to President Fujimori our basic policy to do our utmost to ensure a peaceful resolution, placing top priority on the safety of the hostages. Ever since, our two countries have maintained close cooperation with each other in working for a peaceful resolution. These common efforts of the two countries have received the full support of the international community, as evinced in the Chairman's Statement of the G-7/P8 last year, and the support demonstrated to me by the ASEAN leaders. As described in the Joint Press Statement, President Fujimori explained to me during this morning's meeting that he will move to initiate a preliminary dialog between the Peruvian Government and the culprits. I told him that we welcome and support these efforts of President Fujimori for a peaceful resolution. We strongly expect that the launching of the dialog will bring about the earliest possible resolution. I and President Fujimori also agreed upon Ambassador Terusuke Terada's observer participation on the Commission of Guarantors. Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude and respect to Prime Minister Chr tien and the Canadian Government for their kind understanding and cooperation for our summit meeting. Also, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Minister of Education Domingo Palermo of the Republic of Peru and members of the Commission of Guarantors Archbishop Juan Luis Cipriani and Canadian Ambassador to Peru Anthony Vincent, for their tenacious efforts, and to Representative Michel Minnig and the International Committee of the Red Cross for their international humanitarian activity. Many others have also been hard at work, day in and day out, to solve this incident. I would like also to take this opportunity to convey my strongest and deepest sense of appreciation to these people as well.

III. Questions and Answers

Q: This is a question to President Fujimori; good morning. After your meeting with Prime Minister Hashimoto, what are you going to tell your citizens in Peru?

President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru: To be very brief, we have had very strong support from Prime Minister Hashimoto. It was the support to release of the hostages that I kept emphasizing today; and Prime Minister Hashimoto has extended very strong support. The strong support of Japan and of Prime Minister Hashimoto will be provided under the framework of adhering to the legal system, the Constitution of Peru, and international legal provisions. In that regard, the Japanese Government and the Government of Peru will together continue to exert their efforts for the release of all of the hostages.

Q: Question to President Fujimori. According to the Joint Statement that has been disclosed right now, you say that you have agreed to engage in preliminary dialog between the Peruvian Government and the MRTA members. What do you mean by "preliminary dialog?"

President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru: We have already distributed our Joint Press Statement, and on the third point we have said that those leaders have agreed to promote the commencement of preliminary dialog. The meaning of "agreeing to promote the commencement of preliminary dialog" is to have contact with the MRTA members in the Japanese Ambassador's Residence, so that we will be able to come to a very realistic and effective means to release the hostages. Up until now we have had only unofficial discussions. There has been some progress in these informal discussions, but now we will include the observers and guarantors in undertaking these preliminary discussions. By carrying out these preliminary discussions, we wish to first of all come to an agreement on the framework for our dialog. But this is something that we have already been implementing in the past. There has been contact with the terrorists in the Ambassador's Residence; we have had some informal ground work for engaging ourselves into dialog. This has been conducted with the benevolent activities of Archbishop Cipriani, and we hope that if this preliminary dialog is first embarked on, we will be able to mark the first step of progress.

Q: I have a question for President Fujimori. I am wondering about Canada's role in all of this, and specifically whether you are aware of any talks that Canada may have had with any other countries -- let's say Cuba -- about possibly accepting the terrorists, if in fact this were to be resolved.

President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru: In reality, in this work exploring for solutions of the incident, I believe that there are numerous people and countries that can engage with the incident in order to play a very major role for the resolution of the problem. The Canadian Government has been very active in contributing to the resolution of the problem, and Ambassador Vincent himself was at one time a hostage at the Japanese Ambassador's Residence. He also, after release, re-entered the Ambassador's Residence to engage in discussions with the terrorists, and he also enjoys our confidence. Therefore, he is an outstanding guarantor; he is a totally important and outstanding pipeline for discussions, and he can surely contribute very importantly to the solution of the problem.

Q: A question to Prime Minister Hashimoto. During the summit meeting this morning, was there any discussion about the possibility of the use of force, and in relation to that, did you give any prior acknowledgment beforehand to the Peruvian Government?

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan: This is an extremely important question, and therefore I would like to respond to that properly and elaborately. President Fujimori said he would do his utmost for the peaceful resolution of the problem, and as long as no harm is done to the hostages, force will not be used. He reaffirmed that basic position of the Government of Peru at the meeting this time. We reaffirmed the common determination and policy of our two governments that we shall seek the earliest possible peaceful solution of the issue and safe release of all hostages. President Fujimori has been saying, "As long as no harm is done to the hostages, force will not be used." We take this very importantly, and we therefore, as the Government of Japan, should like to very strictly call for the attention of the MRTA not to harm the hostages in any way.

Q: This is a question to Prime Minister Hashimoto. You have claimed that you were going to support the Peruvian Government 100%. Does that mean that all assistance will be extended to Peru, including trade and investment and economic assistance to be continued into the future, too?

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan: I had not anticipated that this question would be directed at me. Between the two of us, we had thought that probably that question would go to President Fujimori. President Fujimori told me that he would say he believes that the relations the two countries have had to date will not be changed because of the incident this time. I told him that I will not try to stop him from saying that if he made that sort of comment.

Q: President Fujimori, there is a report out that the Canadian Government is agreeing to take a role as a guarantor, essentially to send troops to the Embassy to escort the hostage-takers and whatever other MRTA rebels out of Peru to a safe third country. Is this an acceptable solution to you, for Canadian troops to go in there as peacemakers, to act as guarantors, to escort the rebels out and bring about a peaceful resolution?

President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru: At the present stage, we cannot say what sort of ultimate solution will be realized. However, the members of the Commission of Guarantors will provide good offices and convenience so that the agreement to be reached between the Government of Peru and the MRTA will be realized. Of course, we trust the members of the Commission of Guarantors and Ambassador Vincent, but this is what we expect of the Commission of Guarantors.

Q: A question to President Fujimori. Regarding this preliminary dialog, there is this provision of a request or demand from the terrorists to release the imprisoned MRTA members. Would that be included in your agenda?

President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru: To repeat myself, there will be absolutely no release of MRTA prisoners. For many years, we have suffered from terrorism in Peru. The incident this time is a single incident triggered by the MRTA, but we would not like to go back to the past. The international community should be fully convinced of the following: Some potentially dangerous people will not simply threaten the peace and security of Peru, but also may threaten the safety and security of the international community, and we shall not release such people. In this sort of incident there will not be a release of the prisoners. We cannot in any way release such incarcerated people. Point 5 of the Joint Press Statement also says that Prime Minister Hashimoto agrees with us, that we shall reject MRTA's demand for the release of the terrorists, and we believe this should be a common stance of the international community and should be built into international law as well.

Q: My question is for Prime Minister Hashimoto. In the meeting this morning, did you advocate any particular strategy in these negotiations, such as the use of a third country for asylum?

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan: The two of us this morning, and also at the time I paid a courtesy call on him last evening, discussed all possible cases, but I cannot share with you the contents of our discussions, as doing so would not be useful for the dialog that will be taking place between President Fujimori and his Government and the MRTA in the days ahead with the Commission of Guarantors as mediator.

Q: A question to President Fujimori. In the past few days, in front of Peru's Japanese Embassy, there were helicopters flying above the Ambassador's Residence, and martial music being played. Some kind of provocative acts are being taken, and the Japanese Government and Japanese people are quite concerned about the situation. In this morning's press release, there was no comment about this fact. Based on today's discussion, is it that you are going to refrain from that kind of provocative act, or what kind of plans do you have in relation to this provocative action?

President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru: The authorities are present outside the Ambassador's Residence, and their presence is very important. But of course, any potentially risky acts should be excluded.

What I wish to say is that four police officers engaged in provocative acts, that certainly was not timely and inappropriate, and therefore we should like to see to it that such acts will not be repeated. So I assured him that such acts will not be repeated. But the authorities will continue to maintain their presence in the vicinity of the Ambassador's Residence, because we cannot give up the control of the area surrounding the Ambassador's Residence, in the interest of the safety in the Ambassador's Residence and also of the safety in the surrounding areas.

Q: For Prime Minister Hashimoto. Point 2 indicates that the two leaders intend to intensify their efforts to achieve a resolution. On the part of Japan, since this is taking place in Peru and not Japan, I wonder exactly what that means. Your intensification, does it mean that you have asked for a greater pledge of security for your people? And the fact that you are sending Ambassador Terada to participate in the Guarantors' talks, does that mean that Japan will play a role in the negotiations?

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan: The conclusion we have reached has already been included in the press release. To date, the two governments have maintained close contact with each other, and on matters requested from the Peruvian Government, we have made our efforts as the Japanese Government. We shall continue to engage in similar efforts. However, I believe it would not be appropriate to release all of the contents of such efforts every time. Now, Ambassador Terada will be participating in the Commission of Guarantors' meetings as an observer. This is attestation to the collaboration and coordination between our two Governments. With the members of the Commission of Guarantors' and also with the Government of Peru, we shall maintain a close exchange of information and coordination, and as necessary, Ambassador Terada may be asked for advice. From that vantage point as well, I am sure that there will be some role we can play.

Q: My question is addressed to President Fujimori. We understand that your terrorists are ready to die any time now. If you force them to take their last card, are you ready to destroy your good friend Prime Minister Hashimoto's political and economic life? Or are you ready to compromise -- a little bit, not too much.

President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru: To repeat what I have already said, we shall attempt all possible means for a peaceful solution of the incident. We shall try all possible means, all conceivable means for a peaceful solution. I don't think we will face the sort of emergency situation that you suggested. That is why the two of us met here, and in our meeting today, Prime Minister Hashimoto, I myself, and the two Governments reaffirmed that we will try to coordinate our two positions. So the sort of situation that you suggested right now is totally excluded from our thinking for now. However, what I wish to repeat here -- and this is something that Prime Minister Hashimoto has already said as well, which is extremely important and indispensable in our efforts for a peaceful solution to the situation -- in the dialog that will be coming with the MRTA, what is extremely important is that all the hostages are physically sound and healthy. In other words, they would have to be physically and mentally healthy. For example, if a single hostage is taken ill or several hostages are taken ill, that would not satisfy the conditions that I have set. In other words, this is very important; that all the hostages are sound and healthy. So with that in mind, we shall continue with our efforts. And we hope that our friends will achieve peace and freedom as early as possible.